Watch
by Vanui
Summary: Time stops for no one. Not even fate.


Six fifteen. It had taken her an entire day to get here.

Even though she woke up bright and early, dawn barely breaking over the horizon and eyes adjusting to the familiar empty space besides herself, it had still taken the entire day to arrive on Earth. Despite not having any luggage nor the hindrance of passing through security, the trip was tedious and far too long for her liking. However, she was finally here, and there was nothing more to complain about.

Six nineteen. The cold nipped at her ears and bit into her toes, drying her eyes out and sending shivers down her spine.

The weather on Earth was still that of winter even though it was the middle of March, which was strange in and of itself. If she recalled correctly, there shouldn't have been snow past February in Japan but the weather had a mind of its own. Not that she particularly minded or cared. It seemed to fit the situation, no matter how much she wished she had put on an extra layer or brought along gloves and earmuffs. A gust of wind blew from the gray skies and sent her into another fit of shudders.

Six twenty-five. Snow was falling from the sky again, the tiny flakes making her blonde head appear as if it was filled with dandruff.

Today was the day. Their four year anniversary. It would also soon be a different holiday: the day Yuuno proposed to Nanoha. Right about now, they should have just started dinner at an expensive and luxurious restaurant that the librarian had booked months in advance and spent a great portion of his savings on. Though, she reasoned, he must have spent that much more on the ring itself. Not that she would ever see it, of course.

Six thirty. The snowfall was getting heavier, the wind all the more vicious.

The joyous air and generally happy mood at work was stifling, almost to the point where she thought she couldn't breathe. Whispers traveled around the workplace faster than the spread of an epidemic, and the fault could be placed on one mischievous Hayate Yagami. Poor Yuuno stood no chance against the Commander, just as no one else stood a chance, and she had managed to wrangle his romantic plans out of him and accidentally let it slip with a couple of coworkers. Needless to say, even three days before the actual date, everyone knew. Everyone but the woman in question herself. However much her coworkers couldn't keep a secret, they could at least do that much.

Six forty-three. She sneezed, the violent motion shaking off a layer of white powder that had gathered on her shoulders and head.

Hayate let her take the day off without question. A worried glance was spared her way, but she only tiredly sighed and waved her concern away. She was alone and her burden needn't be placed on anyone else. Besides, she had always been alone. Arf stood by her side, yes, but she didn't understand. No one did. Except Nanoha.

Six forty-seven. She closed her eyes. Savored the sensation of her body going numb.

She was selfish. That she knew. Otherwise the guilt from leaving all her celebrating friends behind would threaten to overcome herself and bring her back home. She couldn't, though. The thought of going back made her sick: sick with want and sick with self-disgust. In the end, she did leave a note describing her intentions on the kitchen counter just so they wouldn't think she abandoned them entirely and hadn't spared her friends a single thought. Because of course she was grateful to them. Because of course their existence meant something to her. Because of course she cared for them. But they weren't Nanoha. No one came close.

Six fifty-five. A horn sounded in the distance, the roar of clacking metal and steel coming closer and closer.

The pain of losing Nanoha to someone else was too much. As much as she wanted to hate Yuuno for taking away the love of her life, she couldn't. The man put a smile on Nanoha's face that she had never seen before. Nanoha's laugh was that much brighter, the bounce in her step that much more noticeable, and her cheeks were flushed with life and love. None of which she was able to give to her. And so for that reason the pain intensified and grew, because she could not hate the man for taking Nanoha away, and because she loved her too much to let her go.

Six fifty-six. The tracks beneath her feet started to shake as the approaching iron monster became a visible dot on the white and gray horizon.

Teana would be fine without her. After all, she was a rising star who had everything to gain and nothing to lose. With a love like Subaru by her side, she would be able to fight through the worst of life and enjoy the best that life had to offer as well. Hayate had her family, and with the power and rank of Commander, there was nothing more her friend could want. Erio and Caro had already found their place in life, so her guidance was no longer needed. Vivio was happy enough by Nanoha's side. After all, a child needed only one "mama", no?

The metal beast was right there in front of her, rapidly coming closer. In what sounded like desperate panic, it sounded its horn multiple times, trying to coerce her off the tracks and out of its way.

She merely looked down to her watch and checked the time again.

It would be eight fifty-eight before anyone was able to decipher who the pieces and bits of the body belonged to. It would be nine twenty-one before the case was handed off to TSAB officers in the vicinity. It would be ten twelve before Hayate and her friends were contacted. It would be eleven sharp before Nanoha, Yuuno, and the rest of her friends arrived by express warping.

Unbeknownst to Nanoha, Vivio had snuck along and, with her cunning skills, remained undetected until the ride there. She stayed incognito and managed to come close enough to the tracks to catch a glimpse of the bloody mess that had been her mama. With much trepidation, she tried to step closer to the scene.

There was a crunch beneath her foot.

A scarlet covered watch lay in the snow, attached to what looked like part of an arm. Despite the horror that gripped the girl's throat and the bile that rose from her stomach, she bent down and hesitantly pulled the watch away from the flesh.

On the cracked glass of the watch, the time read six fifty-nine.

The train was a minute early off its schedule.

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><p>AN: I was showering and, somehow, this popped into my head. I had a strange urge to kill Fate again it seems. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading~


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